Stepan Smolensky (1848-1909)

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SMOLENSKY, Stepan Vasil’yevich (b. 8 [20] October 1848, Kazan’; d. 20 July [2 August] 1909, Vasil’sursk) — trained as a lawyer and a teacher of history, studied music on his own; directed a church choir in Kazan and studied ancient chant with the Old Ritualists. From 1889 through 1901 served as Director of the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing and professor of the Moscow Conservatory in Russian church singing. In 1901–03 was Director of the Imperial Court Chapel in St. Petersburg. In 1907 founded the Precentors’ School in St. Petersburg — the first institution in Russia for preparing choral conductors with open admissions. Author of numerous monographs and articles in the history and theory of Russian church singing. Was responsible for assembling a vast collection of ancient Russian musical manuscripts (now at the State Historical Museum in Moscow). As a composer of sacred music, Smolensky composed relatively little: a Memorial Service for male chorus, “Litanies” and the “Paschal Stichera” in znamenny chant, “TRANSLITERATED TITLE” [“Praise the name of the Lord”] and “TRANSLITERATED TITLE” [“Who is so great a God?”] (all published privately); he also compiled a number of simple arrangements of common hymns for male chorus. Of much greater significance is Smolensky’s influence on performance and compositional activity in the field of Russian church music. The reforms he carried out at the Moscow Synodal School established the Synodal Choir on the highest artistic level and stimulated a number of composers to write works for the church, using ancient chants and indigineously Russian musical elements (e.g., counter-voice polyphony, a variable texture, modal harmony). Smolensky’s followers — A. D. Kastalsky, A. T. Grechaninov, P. G. Chesnokov, A. V. Nikolsky, and others — created an entirely new direction in Russian church music at the turn of the 20th c.
Hnp042_search Stepan Smolensky All of Creation

Stepan Smolensky

Russian “Greek” Chant

SATB

English

HNP042

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V1-75_search Stepan Smolensky Paschal Stichera
Stihirï Pas’hi

Stepan Smolensky

Znamenny Chant

SATB(div)

Church Slavonic

V1-75

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Hnp033_search Stepan Smolensky Praise the Name of the Lord

Stepan Smolensky

SATB

English

HNP033

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The Great Litany

Stepan Smolensky

Russian Orthodox Easter (Recordings 1948-1950)

Don Cossacks Choir

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Cherubic Hymn (Streletskaya)

Stepan Smolensky

Let Us Pray to the Most Holy Mother of God; works by composers of the Moscow Synodal School

Male Choir of the Moscow Representation Church of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery

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All of creation rejoices

Stepan Smolensky

Sacred Songs of Russia

Gloriae Dei Cantores

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Track

Christ Is Risen

Stepan Smolensky

Beautiful Pascha (Paskha Krasnaya)

Choir of Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery and Moscow Sacred Academy and Seminary

Track

Paschal Stichera "Let God Arise"

Stepan Smolensky

Hymns of the Russian Orthodox Church (2 CD set)

Choir of the Church of "Joy of All Sorrowful" Icon - Moscow

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